Metro News & Reviews

Carmageddon’s billboard campaign

Oh yeah: you’ll be seeing a lot more of these thanks to a digital billboard campaign by Clear Channel to make sure everyone knows about Carmageddon II. If you missed the announcement last week, the news release is after the jump.

LOS ANGELES – September 17, 2012 – The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) and Clear Channel Outdoor today announced the launch of a digital billboard campaign to help motorists prepare and plan for the two-day closure of the I-405 freeway over the Sepulveda Pass the weekend of September 29-30. The campaign will serve as a reminder to commuters and residents to plan ahead if they will be traveling that weekend. The campaign begins today and will run each of the 12 days prior to the closure.

Angelenos and motorists throughout the State of California are advised to “Plan Ahead, Avoid the Area, or Eat, Shop and Play Locally” to avoid potentially extreme auto congestion. Clear Channel Outdoor is donating space on more than 50 of its digital billboards during the 12 days leading up to the closure to assist Metro in reaching the community so Angelenos are prepared for the traffic disruption.
“The closure will impact the nearly 500,000 motorists countywide who travel the 405 in the Sepulveda Pass during the weekend,” said Metro CEO Art Leahy. “With digital billboards located throughout Los Angeles and near many of the region’s major freeways, Clear Channel Outdoor is in a unique position to provide the freeway closure information in a timely and meaningful way to Angelenos and state-wide motorists who may be affected. Clear Channel Outdoor’s generous donation of billboard space is vital in helping us get the word out to these travelers and encouraging them to plan ahead and avoid potentially extreme auto congestion and multiple-hour delays.” Clear Channel Outdoor’s billboards reach approximately 1.7 million people per day in the Los Angeles region. The company joined efforts in alerting the community during Carmageddon I in 2011 that helped motorists avoid creating a horrible traffic nightmare. As part of the Los Angeles community, Clear Channel Outdoor sees it as its obligation to use its billboards for the second year in a row to warn motorists about this important traffic disruption.

“Clear Channel Outdoor is pleased to partner with Metro and public safety agencies in their efforts to once again encourage drivers to stay off the roads or choose alternate routes during Carmageddon II. The public awareness efforts mounted by the involved agencies, and the cooperation of motorists, are crucial to ensuring a smooth ride during the closure,” said Clear Channel Outdoor’s Division President Lee Ann Muller. “We are proud that our digital billboards will be used to provide a daily countdown to the closure, offering a visual reminder to those in their cars to plan ahead in order to limit their traffic headaches and congestion on the city’s west side.”

On Friday, Sept. 28, ramps along the 10-mile closure area will begin to be shut down as early as 7 p.m., and closure of freeway lanes will begin at 10 p.m. to ensure full freeway closure by midnight. The closure will continue until 5 a.m. Monday morning, October 1. Ramps and connectors will be reopened by 6 a.m. During this closure, the Mulholland Bridge, I-405 freeway and access ramps will be closed.

During “Carmageddon II” weekend, construction crews will remove the last-standing bridge span and two column sets, work that will require a full 53 hours to complete due to approximately 30 percent more demolition activity than the previous year, as well as the presence of inactive utilities.

NOTE FOR TV/PHOTOGRAPHERS: The first of the countdown displays will be available for shooting all day today, Monday, September 17, and tomorrow, Tuesday, September 18, on the digital billboard located on Santa Monica Blvd and Sawtelle Blvd.

Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings (NYSE: CCO), one of the world’s largest outdoor advertising companies with close to one million displays in over 40 countries across five continents, including 49 of the 50 largest markets in the United States, offers many types of displays across its global platform to meet the advertising needs of its customers. This includes a growing digital platform that now offers over 850 digital displays across 38 U.S. markets. Clear Channel International operates in nearly 30 countries across Asia, Australia and Europe in a wide variety of formats and operates over 3,500 municipal advertising contracts worldwide.